Showing papers in "International Journal of African Historical Studies in 1975"

The stone age archaeology of Southern Africa

Abstract: General works on the Stone Age archaeology of southern Africa (not including those dealing with Africa as a whole) have been published at irregular intervals so that while seven were published between 1900 and 1930 only J. Desmond Clark's The Prehistory of Southern Africa (1959) and the book reviewed here have appeared since then, although data on the southern part of the continent have been included in general works on Africa by Leakey, Clark and Alimen. In comparison with the rest of subSaharan Africa, a great deal of archaeological research has been undertaken in southern Africa since the Second World War and this growing corpus of information has needed synthesis at regular intervals to integrate new data and revise terminology. Such syntheses are by their nature difficult to assemble because of the wide understanding and detailed specialist knowledge required, but I would consider that they should be judged as successful or not on the extent to which they reflect the current state of development of the subject and whether they can be used as a reliable source of data and viewpoints. These points are discussed in relation to Sampson's The Stone Age Archaeology of Southern Africa below. The book is divided into eleven chapters of varying length. The Introduction (pp. 1-15) sets out the aims and methods employed in the classification of sites and in nomenclature, together with maps summarizing the relief, river systems, vegetation, rainfall, temperature and political boundaries of southern Africa. Thereafter, the Stone Age record is dealt with in chronological order from the australopithecine sites (pp. 16-101) to the most recent 'Strandloper' middens along the South African coast (pp. 403-438). A final chapter is entitled Doubts and Speculations (pp. 439-450) and discusses some of the more controversial interpretations aired in the earlier chapters. The Bibliography is extensive but is largely concerned with items published before 1970, and there is a fairly detailed index. As the page references indicate, the emphasis is on the details of the Stone Age rather than on a general overview and theoretical concepts. The chapter on the Earliest Hominid Sites is by far the longest. The subsections deal with a review of research, dolomite cave formation, details of the individual sites, dating and correlation, descriptions of the more important hominid finds and the interpretations that have been offered, a discussion of the osteodontokeratic theory and the evidence for stone artefact manufacture, as well as a review of the associated faunal remains. The eight following chapters deal in turn with the Acheulian and related industries, the Pietersburg Complex, the Bambata Complex, the Howiesonspoort and related sites, the Oakhurst, Wilton and Smithfield Complexes and the 'Strandloper' sites. Each of these chapters follows a similar pattern, discussing first the historical background to the terminology and then dealing with the typology of the complex or industry, the distribution of the industries, a description of each of the industries recognized and then general discussions on the dating, associated human and faunal remains and any climatic or environmental data that are available. A short discussion summarizes the interpretation and problems. These chapters are all well illustrated with maps, diagrams, artefact drawings and tables redrawn from ther sources. Sampson sets out his aims as, firstly, to provide a service to archaeological scholars by collating information from sources that may not be readily available to students in countries outside southern Africa and, secondly, to attempt to revise the terminological framework of the Stone Age record in southern Africa, based on results acquired by himself and others up to 1971. Although published in 1974, it was written largely prior to 1970 and therefore does not include some significant recent advances in a research field that is rapidly expanding and changing. In his Preface he comments that:

Landlords-Strangers: A Process of Accommodation and Assimilation

Abstract: In his study of Upper Guinea from 1545 to 1800, Walter Rodney describes the evolution of a formal relationship between Europeans hoping to settle on the African coast and trade for African products, and the African traditional elite who regulated the activities of the foreigners and profited directly from their presence. While Rodney's is undoubtedly the fullest and perhaps the best treatment of this relationship to date, the very scope of his study has led him to think of the arrangement as unique, that once an agreement between parties had been reached, the only means to change or modify it were coups or the conscious subversion of traditional authority. 1 I want here not to undermine Rodney's basic thesis but to demonstrate that along the Nunez and Pongo rivers from the 1790s to 1860 the relationship between African elites, or landlords, and European or African foreign residents, the strangers, was neither static nor developed especially to accommodate European trade. Instead, the landlord-stranger relationship was a process through which African societies permitted foreign institutions to influence their social structures. Its primary function was not one of control but of accommodation and assimilation by stages and over

Maji Maji in Ungoni: A Reappraisal of Existing Historiography

Abstract: The Maji Maji rebellion of 1905-1906 was Tanzania's most spectacular manifestation of the rejection of colonial rule. It joined numerous peoples of very diverse political, economic, and social backgrounds in a struggle to oust the German power which had recently subjugated them. Of those who participated, the Ngoni of Songea district were among the most determined, some continuing the fight till mid-1906, and most suffering heavily from massive reprisals at German hands. While the largely independent nature of the Songea rebellion has been acknowledged elsewhere,2 in general scholars have held that the Ngoni had the same reason for participating as had others who fought: the belief that the maji (Swahili, water) which their prophets were dispensing would protect their warriors from bullets, enabling them to throw off cruel and repressive German rule and regain their independence.3 The reappraisal of this interpretation which follows is based on

The Prazeros as Transfrontiersmen: A Study in Social and Cultural Change

Abstract: Fifteenth-century maritime expansion precipitated an unprecedented exchange of ideas and technology between Europe and the indigenous societies of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.2 While scholars have focused on the broad political and economic impact of the overseas exploration, they have been less concerned with patterns of local interaction and the concomitant processes of social change. Recently social scientists have developed a number of analytical models to interpret the outcome of cultural contact between European overseas communities and the indigenous populations. These forms range from plural societies, with their separatist ideologies, to new hybrid cultures. While interculturation has been recognized as a common phenomenon on the frontier,3 scholars have failed to consider the possibility that

African Perspectives: Papers in the History, Politics and Economics of Africa, Presented to Thomas Hodgkin

Abstract: Scholars from all over the world contributed to the Festschrift volumes presented as a tribute to Thomas Hodgkin on his sixtieth birthday. This book contains a selection from those contributions, reflecting the wide scope of Hodgkin's own interests, work and influence in the field of African and Tiers Monde studies. All the contributions represent original and previously unpublished work in the fields of African history, Islamic studies and the sociology of religion, and also of contemporary political and economic studies. They are particularly concerned to examine questions of a general and theoretical importance, often by means of detailed case studies. Among the countries thus discussed are Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, Guine Bissao, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Gambia - and, as part of the African diaspora, Jamaica. Fittingly, these essays share one of the main features which have distinguished Thomas Hodgkin's own work - they take a critically evaluative view of some of the established interpretations and conventional wisdoms surrounding their subjects. This book will provide an introduction in depth to the whole field of African studies as well as being essential material for specialists in many disciplines."

Ethiopia's Admission Into the League of Nations: An Assessment of Motives

Abstract: On 1 August 1923 Ras Tafari, the regent and heir to the throne of Ethiopia, applied for membership in the League of Nations on behalf of his country. The literature relating to this event offers several conclusions on its motivation and its meaning. Authorities of the period maintain that the French supported Ethiopia's candidacy as an obstruction to British and Italian imperial designs. These scholars see Britain as the only major power openly opposed to membership on the grounds that Ethiopia was not yet sufficiently westernized or politically cohesive to warrant it.1 A description of Italy's role under the new Fascist government of Benito Mussolini varies from writer to writer. Some claim that